Surveys of academic opinion regarding parapsychology

Several groups have made surveys of academic opinion regarding parapsychology. Since the inception of experimental parapsychology in the 1930s, six key surveys of academic opinion have been reported; these surveys addressed several topics about parapsychology, but particularly addressed four key questions to different groups of academics.

The first study of this kind was conducted in the latter 1930s and involved an extensive survey of the 603 full members of the American Psychological Association (APA), achieving a response-rate of 58%, .[1]

A further study with the same method was conducted in the early 1950s, involving 515 APA members, achieving a 70% response-rate.[2]

Two further polls conducted in the 1950s targeted new associates of the APA. "Somewhat over 60%" of the 621 associates admitted in 1950, and "somewhat over 60%" of the 1323 associates admitted in 1955, completed and returned the questionnaire. The results were strikingly similar over these years, the percentages generally deviating by less than 2%; for brevity, the averages of the proportions reported are given here.[3]

A 1973 survey of readers of the science magazine New Scientist – while involving an unselected sample – produced similar results.[4] From a possible 72,000 copies of the magazine being sold, there were 1,416 returns; 63% of respondents with degrees, and 13% being students.

A larger and more representative study during the late 1970s surveyed 2400 randomly selected college professors of large academic institutions, from the faculties of social and natural sciences, humanities, arts and education, achieving a 50% response-rate with demographics suggesting the sample was representative of the population.[5]

Is the present research direction appropriate?

This question concerned the manner of research, as exemplified in reports in the Journal of Parapsychology. About 32% in both studies of psychologists indicated full support for the direction of research.

Those who considered that the research was not conducted "in the proper direction" were as follows.

13% of the 1930s psychologists disapproved

18% of the 1950s psychologists disapproved

9% of the new 1950s psychologists disapproved

Another way of addressing this issue was given in the 1970s studies, asking if parapsychology was important and making some or only a little progress. 62% of the New Scientist readers agreed, and 57% of the college professors agreed. An option was also permitted to indicate that parapsychology was a pseudoscience: this was checked by 4% of the New Scientist readers, and 3% of the college professors.

This specific question was not addressed to the AAAS members, but similar measures were made of the following attitudes.

"Scientists feel that parapsychological research has not been conducted in a competent manner" – 68% agreed.

"The complexity and elusiveness of psi makes it extremely difficult to research" – 62% agreed.

What is the source of academic opinion?

Most of the surveys asked if the respondents had based their opinions on on journal reports. Personal experience was also queried in most studies as a discrete alternative. (Other source options offered by some surveys were newspapers, books by J. B. Rhine, hearsay, and a priori belief.)

Journal reports

41% of the 1930s psychologists

35% of the 1950s psychologists

16% of the new 1950s psychologists

26% of the 1970s college professors

30% of the 1980s AAAS leaders

Personal experience

2% of the 1930s psychologists

8% of the 1950s psychologists

11% of the 1970s college professors

28% of the 1980s AAAS leaders

In the New Scientist study, of those 25% who considered ESP to be fully established, 40% indicated their view was based on reading scientific literature; most cited personal experience.

The researchers reporting these results have generally noted, in discussion, that the findings are surprisingly consistent over the decades, research methods, and populations sampled; although psychologists and AAAS representatives tend to indicate less positive attitude; the elite scientists of the AAAS were particularly prone to basing attitude on the (lack of) personal experience of ESP; more contemporary scientists are less familiar with the scientific literature of parapsychology than were psychologists in the 1930s; and academics in the humanities are generally most positive in their attitude to the phenomena. In both the college professor and AAAS leader studies, no significant relationship was observed between age or sex and the measured attitudes.